Marie-Raphaëlle Ginon, a life with dogs

Why “La Plaine d’Astrée”?

I spent my childhood in Nervieux, in the heart of the plaine du Forez. When I set up my kennel in 1993, my first buildings were at Sainte-Foy-Saint-Sulpice, in an old farm next to the château de la Bâtie d’Urfé.

Honoré d’Urfé grew up in that house. His pastoral novel, L’Astrée, tells among other things of the love between the shepherd Céladon and the shepherdess Astrée, set in the landscapes of the Forez. The plain of my childhood, that novel and the place of my first kennel came together quite naturally in the choice of my affix: “de la Plaine d’Astrée”.

Belle et Sébastien, a childhood dream

I was about ten when the Pyrenean Mountain Dog came into my life through Belle et Sébastien. First came the book we studied at school, then the cartoon and the television series. She fascinated me straight away, that big white dog.

As a little girl, I dreamt of one day having my own “Belle”. My parents thought this dog too big and too hairy, but that dream never left me.

From Briska and Flash to the founding of the kennel

When I was fourteen, my aunt gave me Briska, a Beauceron bitch from the family kennel de la Trottière. Later came Flash de la Trottière, whom I have always called “the dog of my life”. With him I came to know shows, selective breeding and the dog world far more deeply. It is in this story that the affix de la Plaine d’Astrée took root.

In 1993 the kennel became a reality. The Beauceron was its first chapter, but the image of Belle was still there.

2003, the arrival of “Ma Belle”

After more than twenty years of waiting, I studied many bloodlines and the way they complemented one another before choosing Ura-Belle du Val du Lavedan. Born in 2003, she became the foundation bitch of our Pyrenean Mountain Dog bloodline. In 2007 she was awarded the title of Championne de France de conformité au standard and recognised as Élite A (SCC grade 6).

With Ura-Belle, the childhood dream became a bloodline.

A story that continues in Visan

Today that story continues at the farmhouse in Visan, in the Enclave des Papes. Our dogs live close to the house, among the family, the sheep, the cats, the hens and the ponies. Our selection work continues with complementary bloodlines, looking for the same balance between health, character, conformity to the breed standard and working ability.